New Jersey Demonstration Rain Gardens ~
Homer Street, Hills of Troy

Homer Street, Hills of Troy
25 Homer Street, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County, New Jersey 07054

Google (TM) Map	Site Contact(s)	History	Runoff Managed
Installation	Plant Layout	Maintenance	Photographs

Google (TM) Map:

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Site Contact(s):

Pat Rector, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County
    

History:

The Homer Street, Hills of Troy rain garden was installed to intercept, treat, and infiltrate stormwater runoff from the adjacent driveway.

This is one of five residential rain gardens installed within the Hills of Troy neighborhood, located in the Troy Brook Watershed. There are approximately 137 homes in the neighborhood, and five of eight residents willing to participate in our disconnection project were found to have properties suitable to receive a demonstration rain garden.

By installing these rain gardens, over 2,500 square feet of impervious area has been disconnected in the Hills of Troy neighborhood. The five rain gardens together capture over 61,000 gallons of runoff on an annual basis.

To address the water quality issues associated with increased stormwater runoff, demonstration projects like these rain gardens are essential.

Type of Runoff Managed:

This rain garden manages stormwater runoff from the adjacent driveway.

Installation:

This rain garden was installed in October 2010 by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program staff and interns, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, a Morris County Master Gardener, and the New Jersey Tree Foundation’s Green Streets Program. The rain garden was excavated by using a skid steer to remove the top layer of sod, and then shovels were used to reach the appropriate depth. Next, top soil was added to the remaining soil to improve both the rain garden’s infiltration rate and soil nutrient capacity.

One downspout that was originally directed to a small landscaped bed was redirected to a rain barrel with its overflow being released into the landscaped bed. The rain garden receives runoff from the driveway via an inlet lined with river rock to slow the velocity of the flowing water. Larger river rock was placed around the rain garden to serve as a boarder.

A three inch layer of triple shredded hard wood mulch was spread throughout the rain garden to help prevent weed growth. The native plants installed in the rain garden were purchased from Pinelands Nursery & Supply. 

This rain garden was funded by a 319(h) grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Plant Layout:

Rain Garden Map ~ Coming Soon!

Rain Garden Parameters:

Rain garden size - 200 square feet

Drainage area - 1,000 square feet

Plant List:

Blue Lobelia
Boneset
Brown-eyed Susan
Cinnamon Fern
Foxglove Beardtongue
New England Aster
Purple Coneflower
Royal Fern
Seaside Goldenrod

Click here to download Adobe Reader to view the rain garden map and the plant list fact sheets.
 

Maintenance:

This rain garden is maintained by the homeowner.

Photographs:

Click here for photographs of the Homer Street, Hills of Troy residential rain garden.